Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) is demanding an investigation into the detention of one in every of his staffers as Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) officers entered his workplace.
The Wednesday incident happened as protestors gathered in a federal constructing that’s house to each Nadler’s workplace and an immigration courtroom.
“DHS was upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building, a floor — a floor below. And they were upset that my staff invited some of the observers up to my office,” Nadler stated throughout a Monday morning interview on CNN.
“They then came up to the office and demanded entrance. One of my staff members said, you can’t come in here, you need a warrant. They said, no, we don’t need a warrant, which is incorrect. This is — and they barged in. And, in barging in, one of the officers, a very big, heavy-set fellow, pushed my aide, a very petite young woman, and they then said that she pushed back and they shackled her and took her downstairs. And she was obviously traumatized,” he added.
“Now, the fact is that this was totally unacceptable. The tactics were totally unacceptable.”
Within the episode, first reported by Gothamist and captured on video, a DHS officer is seen handcuffing an aide, who’s crying. One other DHS officer tries to realize entry to a part of Nadler’s workplace, whereas a second staffer stands within the doorway, briefly blocking the agent from coming into.
The federal agent tells the second staffer that she is “harboring rioters in the office” and denies her request to see a warrant, saying as he walks by her that he doesn’t want one.
Nadler, the previous rating member of the Home Judiciary Committee, stated he has been in contact with Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Jordan’s workers didn’t reply to request for remark from The Hill.
“I’m asking for an investigation. I’m communicating with Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, demanding an investigation of this incident – of generally – of ICE tactics, which are, frankly, very threatening to liberty,” Nadler stated.
